Author 




3.S.i 



Title 



Imprint. 



IS— 47379-2 spo 



THE 



EVERY-DAY 



Treatment OF THE HoRS 



(• 



BREEDING, REARING, BREAKING; 




• PRACTICAL INFORMATION 

WITH THE BEST ADVICE REGARDING FIELD AND STABLE TREATMENT 
AS A PROTECTION AGAINST DISEASE. 



DR. GEO. STUART, V. S., M. R. C. V. S., 

AUTHOR OF THE "EVERY-DAY TREATMENT OF THE COW," "HOG CHOLERA, 
"TYPHOID FEVER," "TRICHINA," ETC., ETC. 



CLEVELAND, 0.: 

J. B. SAVAGE, PRINTER, 65 & 67 FRANKFORT ST. 
1879. 



/ 



THE 



m 



EVERY-DAY 

REATMENTOFTHEHORSE; 

BREEDING, REARING, BREAKING; 




PRACTICAL INFORMATION 

WITH THE BEST ADVICE REGARDING FIELD AND STABLE TREATMENT 
o' ' S* AS A PROTECTION AGAINST DISEASE. 



DR. GEO. STUART, V. S., M. R. C. V. S., 

AUTHOR OF THE "EVERY-DAY TREATMENT OF THE COW," "HOG CHOLERA, 
"TYPHOID FEVER," " TRICHINA," ETC., ETC. 



CLEVELAND. 0.: 

J. B. SAVAGE, PRINTER, 65 & 67 FRANKFORT ST. 

1879. 



Or 



PREFACE. 



lu iatrocluciug this work before the public, the author, after having 
a life-long experience in both hemispheres of the globe, is enabled by 
practice and experience to give the best advice as regards the best man- 
agement of the Horse in every-day life, in whatever capacity the services 
of the Horse are required. It is a well known fact that no animal in a 
domestic state is so much under the control of man as is the Horse. Un- 
less at pasture, all the liberty he has is only the length of the halter. 
When at work, he is in the hands of his master, guided at his will by the 
reins, to go at pleasure, to stop at pleasure ; he eats at pleasure, drinks at 
pleasure, and, therefore, his value to the world is greater than that of any 
other of our domestic animals. When kindly treated he loves to please, 
and strives in his ever}^ endeavor to fulfill to the utmost the task imposed 
upon him. He is easily educated, easily trained, and whether kept for 
pleasure or hard work, he goes through his dailj" avocation with pride 
and pleasure, the faithful slave of man; therefore, every lover of the 
Horse will have an opportunity, by studying the following pages, to 
enable him to keep, feed, and manage the Hoi'se, in health and sickness; 
in colthood and old age. 

The author's object in presenting this work is, to be brief, to give the 
reader correct ideas of the nature and treatment of the Horse in health 
and sickness, whether the result of climatic causes, overwork, lameness 
or injury. He has studied and treated the various ills the Horse is heir 
to in both the northern and southern climates of the globe, and is fully 
able to prescribe and advise in health and disease. The modern practice 
and experience of thirty-five years will be given in these pages, with a 
view to enable agriculturists, horse owners and attendants to treat lame- 
ness and disease, with full directions to define the difference of disease, 
whatever organ may be affected, how lameness is defined, with full direc- 
tions how to make up the best prescription and give it to the Horse. 



No bleeding or purging, no depletion, or medicinal disease will be 
advocated, as the days of such barbaric treatment are gone by. Science, 
in the treatment of disease by medicine, has discovered the most success- 
ful means of restoration to health. 

It is not the intention of this work to preach up obnoxious horse 
medicine, with a view to make a well horse sick, but quite the reverse, as 
will be seen by the careful perusal of the following pages. Health is not 
wrapped up in drugs and physic balls, but in the strict system of hygiene. 
When a horse becomes sick, from whatever cause, a correct rule is laid 
down whereby the owner or attendant will be enabled to define the result, 
and adopt proper modes of action for the recovery of health. 

Should credit follow the labors of the author in the advocacy of man's 
most faithful animal, the Horse, he declines to accept it; but should the 
enclosed pages be the means of relieving the Horse from pain and suffer- 
ing, then the end is accomplished, which is the earnest wish of 

Yours, very sincerely, 

DR. GEORGE STUART, V. S. 



TBEATMENT OF THE HORSE. 



BREEDING COLTS, 

FOR PROFIT OR PLEASURE, FOR ROAD OR DRAUGHT PURPOSES. 

The mare should be of perfect form, free of blemish or any 
chronic disease, and in the experience of stock breeders, should 
have a deep chest, well-set withers, arch neck, small head, wide 
loins, and be free of spavin or ringbone, or any hereditary dis- 
ease likely to impart to their offspring; the horse chosen at 
the discretion of the breeder, and no animal whatever allowed 
to be kept for stock purposes, with any defect of lung or limb. 
In preparing the mare for the reception of the horse, if she 
has been strictly fed on grain and hay, give her grain or 
vegetable diet until the bowels are relaxed and her blood cooled; 
and when she comes in heat, do not excite her either by fast or 
hard work; keep her in the stable with little food in the 
evening — no breakfast; take her out to be teased by the horse 
— serve quietly — return to the stable — foment the pelvis with 
sponge and cold water — give a drink — feed s^jaringly and keep 
in the stable for four or five hours to relieve the excitement, 
and in ninety-nine cases of every hundred, your mare is in colt. 
It is against the law of nature to take a mare out of the 
plough or wagon to be served by the horse in a heated condi- 



tion; it cannot reasonably be expected she can be in a fit 
state for conception, and in a great many cases she is barren 
for the season. Never serve a mare on a full stomach; never 
serve a mare in a state of perspiration; never put a mare to 
work for ten hours after service, in order to prevent abnor- 
mal or malformation in foetal life. 

I would advise all stock breeders to put the mare to the 
horse in the month of October, in preference to the spring. In 
the fall of the year the work is over, the mare will have more 
rest, and as they naturally become logy or lazy, these propensi- 
ties can be encouraged. In September of the following year 
she will foal; the colt will have the benefit of being continually 
beside the dam, (and will soon eat grain and hay, become strong 
boned, and in May, when grass is jilenty, will be weaned and 
grow well; when his teeth show one year old he is sixteen 
months,) as her services are not so much wanted as in the 
summer months. During the time of gestation see that the 
mare has a reasonable allowance of grain, as success in breeding- 
depends greatly on the way the mare is kept and fed during 
pregnancy; oats for bone, and nutritious food for muscular 
development in the colt. I prefer the mare to be kept at her 
daily work up to a short time before colting, but used with pru- 
dence and care, and as there are a variety of cautionary points 
to be guarded against, in order to prevent abortion (or slink- 
ing), do not allow a mare to smell blood, or come near the pla- 
centa of a cow, or the carcass of an animal in a state of decay, 
as all such contact is liable to cause abortion in the mare, 
while none other of our domestic animals are so sensitive to 
smell. Should the mare be confined in the stable, take her out 
and exercise her in the hand; do not allow her to roll, as the 
action of rolling will kill the foetus, and symptoms will appear, 
such as flat sides, the mammillary gland will become swollen 
and she Avill give milk, and in some cases it will drop fi'om the 
teats — a sure sign of a dead colt. At the time of colting feed 



sparingly of nutritious food, see that the bowels are not con- 
stipated, as over-feeding will bring on parturient or milk-fever, 
much to be dreaded, as it is difficult to treat successfully, and 
in many a case before a veterinary surgeon can be got your mare 
is dead. A trotting mare should be kept regularly at her work 
when in colt, if a trotting colt is wanted; a work mare should 
be worked \\~p till a day or so of her colting, and a saddle mare 
the same; a proven rule to breed with certainty the kind of 
stock wanted — and the mare should see the horse she has 
been served with, in order to impress his image and color upon 
the offspring. 

SIGNS OF PREGNANCY. 

It is very difficult to decide, for certainty, for three months 
after services, as to the mare being in colt. No better judge 
than the party best acquainted with the temper of the mare. 
When offered the embrace of the horse ten days after the first 
service, even should she refuse it, is no sure sign of pregnancy, 
as I have seen cases where the mare proved to be in colt, and 
took the horse as free as the first time. The mammillary glands 
begin to enlarge at four months, at six the foetus will show life 
by giving the mare a drink of cold water; stand behind her and 
on the right side, a rolling action will be observed. Near the 
time of colting the mare should be kept in a roomy loose box, 
with no obstructions in her wa}', and well bedded with straw, 
so that, as she may colt in a standing position, the colt will not 
be injured in parturition. A few days previous to colting a 
brown colored gum will be seen adhering to the teats, and twen- 
ty-four hours before, the sacrum bones will slip, Avhich will be 
easily felt by drawing the hand down each side of the i*ump. x\n 
attendant should not be far off at the time of colting, as many 
a colt is lost by being choked with the placenta. The first thing 
to be done, draw the hand through the mouth, draw off the 



placenta, sprinkle the colt over with a mixture of oatmeal and 
salt or middlings and salt, leave the mare alone in quietness 
till she has licked the colt dry and clean; in an hour or so 
see that no bleeding has taken place at the ravel (umbilical 
cord), if so, tie a piece of small twine (or ligature) close to 
the belly and leave your colt to the mare. For the rest, give 
the mare a warm drink to assist exhaustion, and should she 
show any symptoms of sickness, milk her for a day or so; give 
her light mashes three times a day in order to give a good sup- 
ply of milk for the colt; in one week, if the weather be fine, 
turn her out to pasture; take her in at night till the Aveather 
is warm; do not let them out in cold, wet weather, or even if 
cold, as cold will put the milk from the mare. At six weeks 
the colt and mare should have a pint or two of good oats. It 
often happens that constipation takes plajce shortly after colting, 
to prevent this give a fresh egg, broken and put down the 
colt's throat; but should obstinate constijjation be present, relax 
the bowels; give the colt one-half pound of black molasses and 
half an ounce of flour of sulphur, two tablespoonfuls of 
warm water, mix. Do not give oil or lard, as such treatment 
brings on nausea and sickness. Epsom salts, aloes, and all 
drastic medicine ought never to be given. Colts that are 
brought up with cows' milk are more subject to constipation, 
but to keep the bowels in healthy action, give one pint of new 
milk and two tablespoonfuls of flax-seed tea, with a little 
salt and crushed oats, if in winter, but in summer give all the 
grass the colt wants; crushed oats are good at any seasou. Colts 
are the better to be accustomed to be handled and learued to 
follow with hand or halter, as it makes them easily broken to 
work. Do not tease or play with them, as it makes them tricky. 
Take them and lead them around, and let them see all that is 
going on in order to make them way-wise. 



BREAKING COLTS. 

Breaking colts requires a person of quiet, kind habits, and 
endowed with patience. A man given to halloing, cursing and 
swearing, should never be allowed to take a horse by the head, 
far less a colt; as such treatment is liable to implant the spirit of 
fear and dread in the young animal which he never forgets, and 
is often the cause of many a serious accident. Keep off the 
wliip, use it only with discretion, not without a cause; teach 
the colt Avhat you wish him to do, then proceed with his educa- 
tion. I do not advise any one to allow the colt to follow the 
dam while at work, as we often see in our streets accidents 
happen, and as a blemished colt is of little value and often 
worthless. 




FiKST Lesson.— Lead them with the halter to let them see 
the traffic on the road. Should they shy or show fear of any 
object do not whip them, as the next time they see the same 
object they are worse, as they expect to get the same cruel ap- 
plication of the whip. Eather lead them up to the object, 
coax and be kind, have a little corn or oats, give a little bite, lay 
some on the object, and instead of leaping over the fence, 
risking a broken leg or neck, your colt wants to go up to the 
object to see if there is any more corn, never again showing fear 
of any object. 



10 

111 the stable put an open bridle Avitli an easy bit in the mouth, 
let him stand for an liour or so at a time; turn him in the stall, 
caress and pet him as he often gets afraid of the bit; check 
him up to teach him to keep his head np. After he is ac- 
customed to the bit, then teach him to lead, going in advance of 
him; stand still, saying whoa, Avhoa; then go on speaking to 
him, then repeat from day to day till he knows. 

Second Lesson. — Put a pair of leather reins on the bridle 
bit; do not put any harness on, only the surcingle that he had 
on in the stall; get two assistants, one at each side of the colt, 
each having hitching straps attached to the rings of the bit; 
drive him with the reins, saying, ''Go on," or "Go along, 
Star," mentioning his name to draw his attention; when rein- 
ing to the right or left, say, "Get over,'*' drawing him over 
to the side wanted; teach him to back by pulling steadily on 
both reins; do not tug, as he becomes stupid and does not know 
what is wanted. You will soon be able to drive him steady 
without any assistants, and will then see if he would kick 
when put in harness. Accustom him well with harness before 
putting him in the shafts. Break him single, as he will be 
sure to go double whenever Avanted. 

Horses broke double are often balky for want of a companion, 
or run away through fear; therefore if wanted to work single 
have to be broken a second time. 

Thied Lessox. — After having got your colt well accus- 
tomed to the harness, get two young saplings, 13 feet long, 
to act as shafts; put them through the saddle straps, as seen 
in the cut, attach a strap at the end to carry in the hand or over 
the shoulder. Should he kick or rear you are safe and have a 
good control over him. After he has been acquainted several 
times, let the ends drop on the ground, and when you want 
him to back lift them up, so that your colt is well broke before 
you put him to buggy or wagon. 



11 

Fourth Lesson. — Having got your colt to understand well 
what ''Whoa," and "Go along" mean, put him in the shafts 
of your road sulky, buggy or light wagon, having on the kick- 
ing rope, always having an assistant with you to help put him 
in the shafts; keep his head well up at all times, so that he 
does not get a chance to kick; and as he Avill be more liable to 
kick in unhitching him, let your assistant stand in front of him 
work'ing the bit from side to side of his mouth, or patting him 
on the face or nose to attract his attention till the harness is all 
free of the shafts. Walk him gently into his stall, get him 
well rubbed down after he has had a little hay to eat to 
{imuse himself. By following the above plan, you will find you 
have a good, docile animal. If wanted for the saddle you 
will have little trouble in teaching him to ride easy and well. 
A colt accustomed to saddle till six or seven years old is always 
difficult to break to harness, but as the saddle comes so natural 
to a horse, no fear being dreaded. I have mounted a horse 
three years old that never had on a saddle before, and he went 
on about his business as if he had been regularly rode a distance 
of ten miles a day, while a colt mounted for the first time will 
often throw himself and rider, and struggle hard to get free. 

It is a mistake to work a colt till he is tired or on a long 
journey for some time after he is broke, as they generally dislike 
to get the harness on; but take them short drives for awhile at. 
first and they will take to the harness more pleasantly. 



13 
BUYING A HORSE. 

EXAMINATION OF A HOKSE. 

I am sorry to say that little confidence is often placed in 
any individual selling a horse, as the principle of truth and 
integrity is often at a premium in horse-trading; hence the 
necessity of a strict examination, as 

" Man's inhumanity to man makes countless thousands mourn." 

The first thing to be done is to see him in his stall; to as- 
certain whether he is a cribber or wind sucker, give him a 
handful of oats, and he will prove himself; if a weaver, stand 
quietly behind him, and you will see him swinging his head 
from side to side of his stall; if a kicker, you will see the 
mark of his kicking on the side of his stall; shake the oat 
measure but do not give him any, and that alone will bring 
out some of his vices in the stall. 

Lead him out of the stall, examine his moiith, nose, eyes, 
etc., for external defects. If the enamel is worn off his fore 
teeth, then he is a cribber; if his eyes are of a whitish blue 
color, he is partially blind or may be given to shying, a very 
dangerous habit; and whatever purpose the horse is recom- 
mended or wanted for, whether for riding, harness, or farm 
work, get a fair trial. You will then be able to find out some 
of his vices, (if any). Get a warranty or guarantee with per- 
sonal security from the party selling, or have him carefully ex- 
amined by a competent veterinary surgeon. A horse may be 
sound to-day, but having been idle for some time before sale, he 
may feel good and overwork himself by fretting, or be caused 
to work too hard and too long hours, and thereby become sick. 
Such cases I have known, and the horse returned, and a 
serious lawsuit be the result. Settle all cases by arbitration, 
if possible, as the price of a horse goes a short way in law, 
however good. 



14 



FEEDING THE HORSE DURING WINTER. 

Horses kept for road purposes, in order to keep free of dis- 
ease, ought never to be driven fast on a full stomach immedi- 
ately after being fed, nor allowed to drink as much as they 
would take after having been driven a mile or two on the 
road: should the owner have business to stop on the road, 
give a drink before starting, not at the moment the horse is 
stopped, even though the horse is not warm; if warm, and the 
weather cold or damp, do not forget to put on your robe or 
blanket while standing; guard against standing your horse in 
a draft. After having been driven fast or a long journey, if 
your horse, is warm, the moment the harness is oif him, get a 
drink of tepid water, with oat or corn meal and a little table 
salt; should he be so warm as to require the wooden scraper, use 
it all over him, siDonge him over with tepid water, use your linen 
cloth rubbers well over your horse. If your stable is warm let 
him stand for half an hour, give him a little hay to amuse 
him, rub down with the brush, put on your blankets, and 
your horse will not break out in sweat. 

After sleighing and frosty, severe weather or heavy roads, 
I have always found it safe to pour boiling Avater over the oats 
and let them stand an hour or so before feeding, with a little 
salt to flavor it. Do not give a horse ice-cold water when warm, 
either in the stable or coming ofE a drive, or before going into 
the stable after the day's work is over; as such treatment is 
sure to founder, or biing on various other diseases. On com- 
ing into the stable, after having removed the harness, pick up 
his feet, pick out the clay, snow or whatever is in the feet, wash 
out with cold water over the pastern joint; be particular that 
no stone, nail, piece of glass, wood, gravel or other hard sub- 
stance is stuck about the frog; dry and clean the fetlock well, 
and I approve of a flannel bandage rolled on the leg immedi- 
•ately and taken off at your convenience. By doing so you 



15 

will never have scratches or even thrush. Cleanliness is next 
to godliness; it has its own reward. Warm oats Avith a little 
salt added, on a cold night, is a grand preventive against 
chills, and is a safe precaution against the inroad of disease. 

Dirt, and standing in manure, is the cause of thrush. After 
you have got through with your attention to your horse, put 
him in his stall, spread a little bedding around his hind feet, 
as- it will encourage him to stale. Straw is best for bedding the 
horse, but sawdust, sand and wocxd shavings used for bedding 
are accompanied with many drawbacks, and ought never to be 
used unless as a point of necessity^; if you bed with anything 
but straAv you Avill require to wash out the sheath every week, as 
sand and dust will brino- on inllammtition. 



FEEDING HORSES DURING SUMMER. 

Horses kept in cities and fed exclusively on oats and hay, are 
liable to constipation on account of the hay being so dry and 
musty; as a preventive, give a little fresh grass occasionally, 
or where it is not convenient, give a mash of scalded oats, 
middlings, and flax seed (not meal). A good wholesome 
mash is made thus: take three quarts oats, boiled or scalded 
for four hours; pour off the water; add two quarts coarse mid- 
dlings, one tablespoonful of flax seed; add a tablespoonful of 
salt; mix: or to give an occasional feed of dry middlings with 
eats, does very well, but in Europe we use boiled barley, 
which is more rich in albumen than oats. It is a good safe 
Avay to sprinkle the hay with salted Avater before feeding, as 
an apj)etizer. All horses eat it with a great relish. 

When the horse comes from a drive very warm, scrape off the 
sweat, sponge over with cold water, use your rubbers, then the 
brush to smooth the hair; put on a blanket, give a few gluts 
of cold water, or wash out the mouth with col(J water; walk 



16 

till dry, then feed, give a liberal drink of water, and you will 
have no further trouble. Wash and bandage as in winter if re- 
quired; take off the bandage and rub the leg. Get a sieve to 
clean your oats before feeding, as there is a great deal of dust 
among oats in summer. Musty hay is dangerous to feed at 
any time, as insects, fungoid, and sporals, are death-dealing 
agents to the horse, resulting in indigestion, heaves, colic, enter- 
itis, etc. 



THE DETECTION OF DISEASE. 

The attendant is often the first to detect disease. It often 
happens that the first notice of internal disease is in the fol- 
lowing indications: refusal to feed; has not had any passage; 
no staling; horse more restive than usual, having pawed all 
his bedding behind him; all over perspiration, heaving at the 
flanks, standing wide behind, hanging his head, or frothing at 
the mouth; shivering as if cold, or kicking at his belly, or 
turning his head and touching his side or any other part 
affected; restive, rising up and lying down, hair standing out 
rough, lashing or whisking the tail, or showing impatience not 
customary to the animal, timidity or fear as the result of 
internal pain, bowels relaxed, or profuse stooling; and a 
number of other symptoms observable, but as the attendant 
has not the means of knowing the cause, immediate advice in 
all cases ought to be sought; but it often happens that the 
attendant, of his own will, or by advice of a neighbor, prescribes 
a remedy in a haphazard way that only excites the disease and 
threatens death. When the animal is dying, as a last resort a 
veterinary surgeon is sent for, often too late. How many val- 
uable horses would be saved if the practical saying Avere acted 
on, "a stitch in time saves nine;" how many lamentations 
would be soothed. How often do we hear such sayings as, "I 



17 

would rather lose $500 than my horse had died." Prevent 
all these annoyances and send for a veterinary surgeon at once; 
when, depend upon it, his interest is your interest to do his best 
in arriving at a safe and sure diagnosis or definition of the 
seat or locality of the disease in order to administer the most 
active remedy to control the disease and alleviate pain. 



FEVER, 



Or whatever disorganizes any part of the animal system is 
called fever. Injudicious treatment of any kind is the means 
of bringing on fever; such as over-feeding, uncleanliness, over- 
driving, overworking, cold, chills by drinking water in severe 
frosty weather, exposure to a cold draft or a hot sun, injury, — 
and goes by various names in a medical point of view, such as 
sympathetic, local, tramatic, zymotic, epizootic, puerperal, 
parturient, etc., etc. All have their local effect in the animal 
system. A fever of blood poisoning is universal, as the circula- 
tion carries the cause all over the system, and this is con- 
trolled by remedies which will be pointed out as I proceed ta 
take up the different diseases animal life is heir to. 



DISEASE IN THE HORSE. 

As already stated, I have found from practice that bleeding 
and purging as a curative of disease, are only adding fuel to- 
fire. Depletion by bleeding has been the scythe in death, mowing 
down its millions. Thirty years ago it was the practice- 
Whatever was the matter with the horse, the fleam or lancet, 
was first resorted to, and to crown all, an ounce ball, made- 
up of aloes, croton oil and other compounds, was crammed 
down the throat. Such treatment would require a constitution. 

2 



18 

like a smith's anvil. And the indiscriminate use of poisons, 
boiling oil, tar, and the firing iron- applied to raw surfaces or 
sensitive wounds, are cruel in the extreme. It is neither good 
nor successful practice to stimulate a diseased organ, but to 
sooth. It is highly condemnable to try to cure a burn by burn- 
ing the wound deeper, or to wrench or sprain one leg because 
the other leg has been lame. With these prefatory remarks 
we proceed to take up the various diseases. 



POLL EVIL 

Is caused by injury to the head. The writer has known a case 
of poll evil in the horse while at pasture, by standing in the 
shade and striking the limbs of a tree driving off the flies, strik- 
ing a beam, or being struck over the head with the heavy end 
of a whip-shank, hanging back in the stall, striking the lower 
side of the manger. A swelling takes place immediately be- 
hind the ears, feels hot, the horse refuses to have the bridle or 
halter put on, shows symptoms of great pain, and loses flesh 
very fast, and is afraid of every movement of the reins. In a 
few weeks the enlargement will break open and discharge a yel- 
low matter, which gives the animal a little relief. No time 
should be lost in getting a cure accomplished, as the purulent, 
ulcerating matter will eat its way to the bones of the neck and 
occiput. As soon as the swelling is observed, foment well 
with warm water, then open; apply No. 1, iodine, 2 drachms, 
lard, 6 ounces, as often as possible; the halter should be taken 
off and a neck-strap used instead; if it is caused by hanging 
back in the still, a rope should be placed across the hind part 
of the horse from pillar to pillar, to prevent him getting back; 
but a very good plan is to fix a small rope, the thickness of an 
ordinary clothes-line, from the ring, a little shorter than the 
halter shank through the ring of the halter, surcingle, and 



19 

below the tail. But a better way during treatment, is to put 
the horse in a box-stall, after the fever heat has subsided. 
By no means use a poultice, as you Avill bring on matter. 
Cold fomentations will do no good. Tinct. of arnica, one 
part; tinct. opium, two parts, will relieve the pain; but after 
it has bursted, it will be beyond the management of ordinary 
skill and should be attended to at once by a j^ractical veterinary. 



CANKER OF THE EAR 

Is a disease brought on by sand, dust, lime, or sawdust get- 
ting into the ear, causing irritation, and by the horse rubbing 
against the side of his stall. Ulceration is the result. When 
persons clip the inside hair from the ears of their horses, the 
dust from the hay-rack gets in, as the natural protection is gone. 
No such practice should be followed. Canker in the ear is 
treated thus: Put a twitch on the muzzle of your horse, take a 
sponge tied on to the end of a piece of stick, make a strong 
solution of soda, soap and warm water, dry out well with a 
soft linen cloth, clean all foreign substance well out, then apjjly 
the following: Take one ounce of burnt alum, melt in one pint 
of warm water, add two drachms of carbonate of soda, then apply 
with the sponge to every sore part. Several times in a day in- 
sert a little sweet oil to soothe the part ulcerated, and repeat 
from day to day till the disease is cured. 



STAGGERS 

Is caused by pressure of blood upon the brain, occasioned by a 
disordered stomach, by over exertion immediately after feeding, 
a gorged stomach, an overfeed after long fasting. Two kinds of 
staggers are distinctly observed, sleepy and mad. Horses 



20 

affected with sleepy staggers look sleepy, languid, and slow of 
motion, and will sometimes fall down on the road and lie still; 
if let alone for a short time then all is well; but mad staggers 
are one of the most dangerous diseases the horse can be affected 
with. He will become suddenly affected while at Avork in the 
field or on the road. They have been known to throw them- 
selves down and in their struggles injure the other horse, and 
kill themselves on the plough. Horses ought never to be un- 
hitched while in a fit of staggers, as they are more safe and bet- 
ter under control in the harness than free, if a heavy load is 
behind them; but a horse driven single in a light wagon or 
buggy is most dangerous of any, as they become uncontrolable, 
and would as readily go over a precipice as keep the road. 
A horse affected with staggers ought not to be kept for family 
use, as it often haj)pens that a horse is kept in the stable for 
days at a time, and full fed on grain and hay. Such a horse is 
fit subject to be affected with such a disease. A vile and cruel 
operation is often practiced when a horse has become affected 
with the staggers — cutting the bars of the mouth and causing 
the blood to run freely, thereby causing unnecessary pain to the 
poor afflicted animal, and doing no good. Take a sponge and 
cold water, foment the head well for a few minutes, which is a 
more humane mode of treatment than the above. Begin in the 
stable if you wish to guard against effects of this kind. See that 
the bowels are kept natural, feed often, and little at a time, 
small quantities of water if driving on the road in warm weather, 
as staggers are more frequent in the horse in hot than cold 
weather. A fatal termination of this disease ends in phrenitis, 
or inflammation of the brain; sunstroke is another result, in a 
great many cases affecting horses dried in the bowels or consti- 
pated, as city horses fed exclusi\ely on oats, corn and hay are 
apt to be. 

When staggers affect the horse get him into the shade or a 
cool shed as soon as possible, lave plenty of cold water on th e 



21 

head, give a good rest before going into the heat of the sun; 
drive such a horse only every morning and evening, as heat only 
aggravates the disease. A law ought to be in force in every 
country to stop the sale of such a horse, as no one is safe any 
moment, while driving or riding, beside the risk of life and 
property within reach of the maddened animal. Do not allow 
such an animal to get over fat, as high condition tends to affect 
the animal more often and severely than if in fair working con- 
dition. A person knowingly using such a horse in the busy 
streets of a city, ought to be punished, as such a horse is a mov- 
ing magazine, liable to explode and sacrifice human life at any 
moment. Congestion of-the brain is the usual condition found 
in post mortem research after death. Vertigo is a slight attack 
of staggers, and if properly treated a cure can be effected. 



SUNSTROKE. 

Sunstroke, or as in French, coup de soleil, has much the same 
appearance in the attack as staggers, but with the practiced eye 
of experience no mistake can be made. It is the result of over- 
exertion and exposure to the sun's heat, combined with reflec- 
tion from the pavement. It is often in the city, seldom in the 
country; and whenever a horse becomes struck use cold water 
freely over the head. If traveling in a hot sun water often, feed 
little and often, see that there is no constipation or dryness of 
the bowels, as any irregularity of the system aggravates sun- 
stroke. Never bleed, as any depletion is certain death, and 
renders the case incurable. If a horse is once sunstruck do not 
use him again that season, as a second seizure is instant death. 
Only use him morning and evening, as my experience has taught 
me that a loss of energy is the result. 



22 

THE NASAL ORGANS OR NOSTRILS, 

Or olfactory nerves, are the seat of smell and the veterinary's 
snn-dial. The indications of various internal diseases are 
shadowed on the septum nasi, or inside lining of the nostrils. 
As diseases of the lungs are depicted as a part of the diagnosis 
ozena, distemper, fever arising from cold, epizootic, nasal gleet, 
glanders, etc., etc. 

The nostrils in health are clean, clear, pinky red, with no 
discharge, by which the horse breathes only, direct from the 
lungs, by which the horse defines all his food, whether in the 
meadow or the manger; separating and selecting all his food by 
the muzzle, and choosing only by the sense of smell, — a promi- 
nent provision of nature, rejecting poisonous weeds and musty 
food, which no man can force him to eat. The sense of smell 
to the horse, with the long hairs or feelers that grow on the 
muzzle are to him what hands are to men; he measures distance^ 
and in the dark has the power of feeling and smelling for his 
food, while wild horses can smell an enemy for a long distance 
oif. Pieces of iron, nails, stones, twine and other substances 
are often found in the feed box, left there by sense of smell or 
touch. All articles, such as soap, oils, or any ingredient of a 
repugnant smell should be kept away from the feed box. 



DISEASES OF THE EYE. 

As a result, shying is a common occurrence in defective 
vision. No horse that has a good sight will be seen to shy, but 
all animals of weak vision, that see ah object imperfectly, 
become afraid and will fly to the reverse side. Horses aifected 
in this way should be gently taken up to the object, and in all 
kindness shown the cause of fear. But when the vision has 
become impaired by disease, such as ophthalmia or moon blind- 
ness, then a cause is seen by the effect of opacity, or a whitish 



23 

scum covering the cornea of the eye, the result of injury or 
accident. At other times a white spot will be seen on the 
under side of the star. Such a horse cannot see the ground — 
can only see above the head. Others, again, have a red or 
blood-shot appearance, caused by cold or exposure. Some 
stables that are warm inside have ventilators immediately in 
front of the horse's head, whereby the horses have got cold 
and 'resulted in the above condition. All such cases are to be 
treated with cooling lotions such as recipe No. 1: 

Plumbi acid, one ounce; cold spring water, two quarts; mix. 
Then take a piece of cotton batting, saturate well with the 
lotion and apply to the eye, keeping wet as much as possible. 
But should there be much opacity or whiteness, then use 
instead the following: 

Sulphate of zinc, two drachms; cold, spring water, one pint, 
tinct. opii, two ounces; mix. 

Should the infusion, redness or inflammation be predominant, 
with watery discharges, take a thin cloth, wrap up half a pound 
of coarse bran, and saturate with the following recipe, then 
apply in the same manner. 

Bol. Armenia, one ounce; acetic acid, one ounce; four quarts 
of cold water; mix, and apply with a bandage. 



THE MOUTH. 

The earliest trouble horsemen and breeders find is from teeth- 
ing. We have seen a few cases where an outward projection of 
the incisors had become a very troublesome obstruction in the 
way of feeding. After the colt is old enough to begin to crop 
for itself, a difficulty is observed in the cropping and feeding of 
the colt although he can suck well. As he grows he becomes 
poor; an examination of the mouth reveals the defect. 



34 

The teeth projecting from the mouth is a decided impediment 
in the way of feeding, and ought to be extracted as soon as 
observed, as the colt can be sustained by the mother's milk for 
a few weeks till the gums harden and a new set of teeth will 
soon grow all right. If left till weaned, then the colt has to be 
supported on gruel and mash food; when colts are allowed to 
grow up with the teeth projecting, they become what is called 
parrot-mouthed. I approve of stinging a colt while drawing 
teeth, as we are safe not to injure him. If a young colt 
is thrown or tied down you will run a risk of injuring him 
internally, as his struggles when lying tied may bring on hernia 
or injury to the bladder, or blemish his legs for life. Even in 
the above position do not strap the legs; give them freedom, as 
with the aid of an assistant to hold the colt around the neck 
you are drawing the two or four teeth. The mode of opera- 
tion is to have a pair of large two-winged forceps, draw the 
nearest tooth first, bending the hand down to the outside of the 
mouth, nipping between the finger and thumb the lacerated 
gum. After the teeth are extracted use a solution of tincture 
of myrrh and water to stojj bleeding and assist the healing pro- 
cess; as soon as you are finished let down your colt and he will 
run away to his dam as if nothing had happened. If cases of 
parrot mouth were attended to in time, many a defect would be 
cured and teeth grow natural. 



APHTHA IIM THE MOUTH. 

Many breeders have observed that their colt acted as if sick 
;and could not suck, but on examination of the mouth a brown 
mucous was adhering to the gums, and sore, ulcerated, red sjDots 
on tongue and lips; my belief is it is caused by the heated state 
of the blood and milk of the dam while in season, as I have 
watched such cases in Europe and America. No weeds could 



25 

do it, as the paddocks were kept as free as a gentleman's 
lawn. Wash the mouth with a weak astringent, non-poisonous, 
and in a day or so the colt will be all Avell. I have seen the sting 
of the burning nettle of Scotland swell up the mamilary gland 
of the mare caused by lying down on them and cause a case of 
garget, but warm fomentations and the use of weak ointment 
soon repaired the injury; and the bites of ants in America acted 
the' same way. 



LAMPAS IN THE COLT 

Is an imaginary disease, and is the result of a change in the 
mouth while teething, and a natural development ; but the ig- 
norant horseman, finding that his colt of three or four years old 
is off his feed, takes him to the forge to be seen by some smith 
whose learning has been neglected and whose know-nothing edu- 
cation reveals the fact that the colt has that hobby of a disease 
called lampas, and must be twitched and gagged, burned in the 
mouth, or cut with a knife as blunt as their ways are cruel. If 
evei there was a case that demanded the strictest attention of 
the Humane Society all over the United States, that is one; 
and a law cannot be too soon in force to punish such unwar- 
ranted indiscrimination and cruelty. There is not a work writ- 
ten by a veterinary surgeon that advocates cutting or burning, 
as the result has proved disastrous to many a colt, and a heavy 
loss to the owner. As an illustration : A colt came to my forge 
in July, 1875, to get the hind shoes on. On coming up to the 
door no persuasion could get him in, as the sight of the fires 
and sound of the anvil so frightened him as to almost make him 
crazy. After a deal of coaxing I recommended him to be 
brought back the next day and gently dealt with till he could 
be got inside with another horse ; but he was taken to another 
forge and forced inside, where there was no noise or commotion 



36 

to frighten him ; but so frightened was he at the fire, hot shoe- 
sparks, and sound of the anvil, that whenever the smith at- 
tempted to approach him he reared, phmged and did his best to 
get out. However, a twitch was put on him, and the ropes 
from shoulder to fetlock of hind leg ; he became quite unman- 
ageable and threw himself down, so injuring the lumbar mus- 
cles and bone of the spine that he never could get up, and as a 
consequence, was shot. So ended the life of a valuable bay Ham- 
iltonian colt, four years old. Now for the solution of the prob- 
lem : The colt was several times shod forward and stood the ope- 
ration of shoeing well; but the last of April he had lampas, and 
Avas burned behind the fore-teeth as a decided cure. He never 
forgot the cruel treatment and could not be persuaded to enter a 
forge. Such was the reward of burning as a cure for lampas in 
that case. I have one or two similar cases in my mind. In 
Scotland, I remember of a chestnut horse that had been treated 
in that way, and every time he had to be shod he had to be 
thrown ; and the last time he was thrown he never rose again^ 
having ruptured a blood vessel and died. Lamjias can be cured 
in five minutes by a proper application and rubbing the bars 
back with the thumb from the front teeth. The remedy is so 
simple and pleasurable to the colt that he will stretch out his 
neck and keep his mouth open, meanwhile you are rubbing the 
mouth, and will work on the part with his tongue after you are 
done, and although he has not been able to enjoy his feed of oats 
for some days previous, he will eat whatever is given him with 
sweet relish a few minutes after. 



EXCORIATED ANGLES OF THE MOUTH. 

In veterinary practice a great many cases come under treat- 
ment of excoriation of lips, gums and tongue, caused by care- 
less management and abuse by the bit. We have cases of lips 
literally lacerated by tugging, sawing and too tight overcheck 



27 

or bearing reins. A great many bits used are poor instruments 
to make a good mouth. The wire bit, the chain bit, and num- 
bers of other instruments of torture have only their place in the- 
stable museum as articles belonging to the Dark Ages. It is 
true, many a horse cannot be managed without a severe bit. 
Try the nose-strap rubber bit — rubber covered snaffle — marten 
bit, and many other easy appliances for the proper management, 
easy driving and comfort to the horse. 

The lips torn, lacerated tongue and gums are a decided draw- 
back in the value of a horse, and in a veterinary examination is 
as much a case of unsoundness as a broken knee, and goes fur- 
ther than the word blemish. 

In stables or barns where the bridle is taken off the horse, the 
bit being wet and hung to one side where the frost affects it, 
the next time the bridle is used, the bit put in the horse's 
mouth without being warmed, will excoriate and severely annoy 
the horse and prevent him feeding freely for days to come. 
When a frozen bit is put into a horse's mouth he will run back- 
ward out of his stall with the stinging sensation caused by the 
frosted bit sticking to his mouth. The writer remembers a case 
in jfoint where a team of horses was engaged in hauling stone 
out of a quarry. At noon the bridles were taken off and they 
were fed from the nose-bag. After feeding the bridles were put 
on, the bits being frozen during the time the horses were feed- 
ing ; immediately the horses ran back over into the quarry and 
were both killed. 



SPEEDY CUTTING 

May be defined in two ways : As interfering and cutting the pas- 
torn, and cutting and injuring the cannon and inside of the 
knee. A high stepping animal may injure the knee whether he 
has shoes on or not; but it is seldom that a horse will interfere 
or cut the pastern joint without shoes, unless the hoof becomes 



28 

ragged or rough on the inside. "Whenever an injury of this kind 
occurs, get tlie part cleaned well with carbonate of soda and 
tepid water; then apply the healing ointment, and it will be 
well m a few days; then keep on a soft flannel bandage, doubled 
over the pastern, or a boot of rubber or leather. 

Splints are the result of injury to the cannon bone, and an 
enlargement or swelling, accompanied by heat and fever to the 
inside of the knee. There are many devices to prevent speedy 
cutting of the knee : a three-quarter shoe, a feather-edge shoe, 
aud a boot to protect the leg or knee. 



THE TEETH 

Of the horse ought occasionally to be examined on account of 
the many accidents they are liable to. A free feeder or a hun- 
gry horse is at all times liable to get foreign substances firmly 
pressed between the teeth or to break the edges of the grinders 
in consequence of a piece of nail, hard wood, or pebble stone 
having been snatched up and quickly pressed between the teeth 
while eating oats. 

The teeth of the horse are as sensitive to pain as those of the 
human being, and few of the cases called by horsemen " out of 
condition," are attributed to diseased teeth. A horse has gone 
day after day, and year after year, till death puts an end to his 
suffering, with toothache caused by carious or rotten teeth, and 
the thought never struck the owner that his horse was suffering 
from toothache, and he never once thought of having his mouth 
excimined. I have had young horses brought to me for treat- 
ment when nothing was wrong but the teeth; feeding voraciously 
one meal and slopping all over the feed-box the next; wanting 
to eat but suffering acute pain, was prevented from eating. On 
examination I found sometimes a loose tooth, a broken tooth, a 



29 

carious or rotten tooth, a molar tooth projecting np against the 
npper jaw, having been injured and misphiced by injury, sup- 
posed to have been kicked. 

I immediately had recourse to the forceps, drew or wrenched 
out the protruding molar, rasped the remaining teeth, drew or 
pressed the wounded gums together. The poor hungry animal 
went to eating with a relish it was a pleasure to look at, and in 
six' weeks he became fat, could eat as well as ever. He was poor, 
emaciated, and his digestive organs were impaired ; he passed his 
oats as he ate them. I fed him on scalded middlings, boiled 
rice and oat meal, and every day he improved in flesh and got a 
skin on him like glass. I would advise boiled carrots, Swedish 
turnips, boiled barley, boiled or scalded oats and rice, and do 
not forget to put salt to flavor. I have never seen a horse but 
became very fond of them and did well. Any old horse whose 
digestive organs are weakened will become a beauty if fed in 
that way, with a sufficient quantity of hay. Horses kept in the 
city for family use if kejDt in that way can be kept cheap, and 
not look so dry, shaggy and long haired. If their work consists 
of a drive to the office, or to market, a few family calls on a fine 
day, or to church on the Sabbath, and if wet or too cold never 
out of the warm stable, that is the kind of treatment for such a 
pet. If his work requires oats oftener than two times a day, 
give the warm mash in the evening. Your horse will feel well,, 
look gay, be easily cleaned, a soft skin and clear hair, a silky 
tail and mane, with neither scurf nor dandruff about them. 
All aged horses ought to have their mouths examined occasion- 
ally, as the edges of the teeth wear sharp and cut the masseter 
muscle or cheek, and bring on ulceration. 

Caries in the jaw is in most of cases incurable. The orifice- 
ought to be left open so that the matter can discharge. 



30 



PNEUMONIA, OR LUNG FEVER, 

Or inflammation of the lungs, is one of the worst diseases the 
veterinary surgeon has to contend with, more especially in a 
changeable climate. It often occurs that the pleura is evolved, 
a thickening or collection or infusion of serum takes place on 
the thin membrane or covering of the lung tissue, often the re- 
sult of contagion, but exposure, or a sudden chill, or neglect 
after a hard drive is often the cause. The horse will take a chill, 
shake all over, have cold legs, refuse to feed, a hot mouth, an 
anxious look, and in ten or twelve hours show labored breathing. 
Never lose a moment to -get the assistance of a veterinary sur- 
geon, if within reach, as moments are precious at that stage. 
Do not bleed, as used to be the case thirty years ago. Build up 
and retain all the vitality possible. Do not annoy the horse; 
keep him quiet, and the veterinary surgeon by auscultation will 
be able to prescribe either internal remedy or blister, as the case 
requires. Keep all the pails away from the sick horse but the 
one used by him; do not give any left hay or other food, the sick 
refuse, to any other horse. Keep him warm and well blanketed; 
hand rub his legs to keep them from swelling. 



THE THROAT AND ITS DISEASES. 

Sore throat in the horse is frequently a sign of some graver 
disorder, and in all cases should be cautiously treated. It often 
occurs in young horses taken up from pasture and confined in 
close stables, breathing the contaminating air of most stables. 
It is not every measure that will cure sore throat; it frequently 
occurs that the groom or owner will commence the treatment 
himself, rubbing turpentine, the infernal fluid of the quack, 
blistering, burning and scalding skin and hair; and as a last re- 
source turning him out to pasture, there to contract other dis- 



31 

€ases, even glanders itself, and spread the disease far and wide. 
There are few internal diseases that the horse is subject to 
but the throat is involved: larnygitis, distemper, irritation of 
the mucous membrane of the a^sophagus and larynx, which 
shows a swelling in the neck accompanied with a cough; the 
osthyod glands, situated at the root of the tongue, become swol- 
len and require treatment peculiar to the case. The writer 
would particularly call the attention of the reader to the differ- 
ent diseases that cause cough: distemper, larnygitis, bronchitis, 
pneumonia, irritation of the stomach, bowels, worms and ozena; 
iill the above diseases are the result of cold and exposure. Hot, 
ill-ventilated stables, dusty oats, musty hay, rank bedding, and 
-a sudden exposure to cold air — these generally provoke a cough, 
and if care be not taken bring on disease. Cough is more fre- 
quently present as a symptom than as a disease. 

Distemper, a name given to a swelling accompanied with in- 
flammation of the intermaxillary or space between the under 
jaw, and accompanied with running at the nose, affects all colts 
after being taken up from pasture — the consequence of confine- 
ment and change of food. 



BRONCHITIS 

Is a dangerous and painful malady, originally situated on the 
mucous membrane of the air passages, and, if not arrested, in- 
volves the whole contents of the thorax; caused by cold, stand- 
ing for hours at a time exposed to rain and cold drafts. It is 
difficult to prescribe for a case of bronchitis without a minute 
examination of the patient. Some horses are affected with a 
choking sensation, others again with wheezing; but in every 
case we have the short cough, and as the disease proceeds, a dis- 
charge at the nose takes place — an effort of nature to get clear 
of the disease. 



32 

WORMS. 

We feel sorry to admit that such a clean feeding animal as the 
horse should be the receptacle of internal parasites. They are 
introduced into the stomach when out at pasture, both in sum- 
mer and winter; as various carrion or insect feeding birds de- 
posit their droppings among the short grass, moss, foliage of 
hedges and trees. The horse cropping his feed takes them into 
his stomach in embryo or larva state, and as soon as developed, 
he will show a depraved appetite, even eating dried cow dung 
while at pasture, and his own when in the loose box in the 
stable. It is no wonder that we see the tucked belly, long coat, 
and dusty, dry dandruff adhering to the skin. The lunbrecus 
teres, or large worm, which I have so often found in the large 
and small intestines — I do not remember of ever having found 
them in the stomach — are from ten to fifteen inches in length, 
with the thickness of a pipe stem; when cut up they are full of 
embryo, they feed principally on the kyle or milky fluid digested 
from the food before converted into blood by the liver; therefore 
an animal so infested by numberless quantities of entozoa is 
robbed of all nutrition and starved; one horse so infected eating 
as much as would feed two horses, in order to keep skin and bone 
together. The next in size, the strongulus, from one to two 
inches, white and black, are found principally in the small in- 
testines and rectum. Birds, such as the starling of Europe, 
rooks, crows and blackbirds of the States pick them from the 
droppings of the horse, where they find an element to propagate 
their species, and drop or deposit in return on the hay, and 
from thence are carried into the stable, there again to propagate 
their species anew. Worms sometimes eat through important 
structures and cause death. Chronic cases of colic are often the 
result of worms in the small intestines. It is the custom of 
some practitioners to give a drachm dose of aloes and croton oil 
to expel the worms, but such treatment is malpractice, and will 
not expel the worms, as they adhere firmer to the coat of the in- 



33 

testines. Next in order is the smallest, called ascarides. They 
chiefly are found in immense numbers in the rectum. Their 
presence is known by a black gummy excrescence adhering to 
the anus. Tliey are more easily got rid off than any other 
species. Their presence troubles and annoys the horse so that he 
will rub his tail till not a hair is left. The best solution that will 
bring aAvay these is to inject a solution of opium, starch and milk 
till they engorge themselves, and every worm will come away 
with the discharge. Lumbrice and strangulus are treated thus: 
Take for an ordinary sized horse one quart of milk, half a pound 
of black molasses, half an ounce of opium; warm the milk and 
molasses together, and when cool euough add the opium. The* 
worms will loose their hold of the intestinal wall and revel and 
feed on the food so palatable, when the narcotic action of the 
drug will carry them through the intestines. Give every other 
morning, and the horse's coat will become clear and soft. By 
repeated feeds of salt mash mixed with boiled turnips and car- 
rots your horse will become fat and free of worms in a short 
time. This simple and efficacious remedy I recommend to in- 
experienced parties, but stronger measures can only be used by 
the experienced practitioner. Purging with drastic medicine is 
deleterious to the horse and does not do any good, as the worms 
only adhere firmer to the walls of the intestines. 
The tape worm is seldom found in the horse. 



ATROPHY, A WASTING OF MUSCLE, OR SWEENY. 

Atrophy takes place in any muscle where a defect of circula- 
tion has taken place, as the blood in its circulation feeds all the 
muscles in its onward mission. It is most often seen on the 
shoulder of the horse, and is in some cases the result of strain in 
the muscle, a tight collar, or a hard gallop. Whenever the 
horse is affected he will show lameness by pointing the foot 



34 

while standing in the stable, and not being able to flex the knee 
while walking. A heat will be found before the sinking or 
shriveling up of the muscle of the shoulder blade. Fomenta- 
tion by warm decoctions of various herbs, then an active external 
stimulant, with friction, is the quickest way to relieve the ani- 
mal of the trametic or cramped condition of the part involved. 
A blister is not the remedy to cure a defect of circulation, 
neither is probing and blowing the air into the tissue beneath 
the skin a mode of good treatment. Soothing is the successful 
mode, and in every case good active friction. 



SHOULDER LAMENESS 

Is often caused by slipping or running against any stationary 
or hard substance, such as a fence, hitching-post, or by a kick. 
If swelling be the result, take of tincture of arnica, tincture of 
calendula, equal parts, aqua ammonia two oz., mix and rub. on 
the part three times a day. Keep covered with a cloth or 
blanket, as the remedy is volatile, in order that the remedy may 
sink into the skin. Should a fever take place, ten or fifteen 
drops of tincture of aconite in one tablespoonful of cold water 
every two hours, till relieved. Sec that the bowels are kept 
open, but do not give any purgative, as you only bring on 
medicinal disease. 



ELBOW TUMOR 

Is the result of the horse lying down on the heel of his shoe 
while in his stall. Whenever seen, apply cold fomentations with 
a strong solution of iodine, and it will be easily removed; but if 
neglected, an operation with the knife will be the result. In 
order to prevent the like result, roll the foot up each morning 
with a cloth, and then no pressure will injure the elbow. 



35 

BOG SPAVIN, (Enlarged Bl'r.e Mucus,) 

BLOOD SPAVIN, (Local Venous Congestion,) 

Is the term usually given to enlarged mucous capsules, or to 
distended state of the subcutaneous veins in the region of the 
hock. Bog spavin and bone spavin bear no resemblance to each 
other. I do not remember of seeing a horse lame from bog 
spavin, but the unsightly appearance of the in.'^ide of the hock 
makes a horse show a defect and weakness of the ligaments that 
bind the joint. It is a distension or collection of synovia, or 
joint oil. A cooling lotion and a slight blister are the proper 
treatment to reduce the swelling. It is not hereditary, like 
bone spavin. 



BONE SPAVIN 

Is the growth or excess of bone groAvth on the bones of the hock 
till the growth of bone presses against the tendons and inter- 
feres with the movement of the leg. Among the diseases the 
horse is subject to, more torment and suffering have been under- 
gone in the name of treatment than in any other known to the 
profession. Burning, firing, cutting off the excessive growth of 
bone with a chisel after throwing, and cutting the skin and liga- 
ment, beside blistering like a burning iron, causing the poor 
animal to undergo a life of suffering every step it takes. The 
only way to treat a case of bone spavin is to use a soothing 
remedy by being often rubbed on the inside of the hind leg every 
night and morning. Mercurial ointments have been in use for 
ages, but have only ended in making the cure worse than the 
disease, and leave a blemish for life. 



36 

RINGBONE, OR EXOSTOSIS, 

Is the same in effect as bone spavin, situated on or in the 
vicinity of the pastern joint, frequently ending in anchylosis, or 
a growing firm and immovable of the pastern joint, (called 
ossified). Eingbone is what is called a "periosteal affection," 
or a growing of calcareous matter below the thin membrane that 
covers the bone. Many a brutal operation has the horse been 
subjected to as a supposed means of cure. One case I call to 
memory from reading: A poor aged animal that had been the 
faithful slave of its master for many a year, had been subject to 
this disease, and the owner had long since given up all hope of a 
cure, till at length one of those exotic, pestiferous specimens of 
humanity, termed horse doctors, undertook for the sum of $5.00 
to cure an hereditary, incurable disease. The owner, through 
the deceptive arguments of the barbarian, consented to an oper- 
ation, which for cruelty would have outdone an inquisitor. It 
consisted in cutting through the integuments down to the bones, 
for both hind legs were operated on; a red-hot iron was then 
freely used over the exposed surfaces, some oil of turpentine 
then being poured into the horrid wound, it was set on fire, and 
thus the brutal operation terminated. Ringbone is incurable. 
Pain may be alleviated for a time, but hard work of any kind 
causes pain and suffering to the animal. 



SCRATCHES 

Are the result of neglect in stable management After a horse 
has been working in the mud be sure to wash the fetlocks well 
with warm water and soap, then roll on a bandage till the fet- 
locks get dried, then rub well with the hand to accelerate the 
circulation, and scratches or greased heels will be unknown in 
the horse. When affected with scratches, keep clean as above, 
and should they proceed from mud or stable filth, if the skin 



37 

has become cracked and raw, an application of glycerine with a 
weak caustic ointment, will cure them in a few days. They are 
very prevalent in winter, especially in rough or hairy legged 
horses. 



THRUSH 

Is 'a disease caused by neglect, and affects the frog of the foot — 
is inflammation of the sensitive frog which secretes matter in- 
stead of horn. Sand, gravel, or any foreign substance will bring 
on thrush in its worst form, secreting a fetid matter between 
the clefts of the frog. The frog shrivels up and causes contrac- 
tion of the foot. It is mostly found in the hind feet of mares, 
but the fore feet of the horse, in conseijuence of standing in un- 
clean bedding, are often subject to that disease, and if not 
quickly attended to will bring on canker in addition to the above 
disease. A stuffing of tar is a very objectionable mode of treat- 
ment, as the frog will become detached. A poultice of any kind 
will only aggravate the disease and bring on matter, when the 
cure becomes worse than the disease. Clean out the frog every 
time the horse has been used, wash, dry and stuff the cleft of 
the foot with an astringent ointment. 



QUITTER 

In the foot is caused by gravel or any foreign substance getting 
between the hoof and coffin bone, or os pedis, or a prick with a 
nail, as the result of careless shoeing. The sand gets into the 
lamina, and causes swelling on the coronary band or upper 
part of the hoof, Avhich breaks out and secretes a purulent mat- 
ter which requires active measures to stop, or prevent the spread 
of the disease over the inside of the hoof. The horse is very 
lame and often is affected with considerable local fever. The 
cabC requires the active treatment of the veterinary surgeon. 



38 



CORNS IN HORSES' FEET 

Are not at all times the effect of bad shoeing, but in many eases 
the shoes are kept too long on till they are worn too thin. The 
hoof growing over the foot and the heel pressing on the sole of 
the foot, cause a congestion of blood; hence a corn. It some- 
times happens that the horse has a stone or pebble firmly im- 
bedded between the heel and the shoe, which remains unknown 
to the owner till the horse shows lame. Dressing the corn with 
the draw-knife and easing the shoe of the part, is all that can be 
done. Every shoeing smith has his own cure, and everyone bet- 
ter than another. A bar shoe is recommended, but I condemn 
such a shoe. A grass shoe, or a shoe to come half way along 
the foot, leaving the foot free, is the best mode for the easy 
treatment of corns. 



INFLAMMATION OF THE FEET, OR LAMINITIS, 

Is occasioned by various causes, such as standing in cold mud, 
snow, soft slush, after being driven on hard ground till heated. 
The fore feet are the seat of the above disease; the lamina or pad 
between the os pedis or coflBn bone, and the hoof or crust. It is 
the weight bearing pad that assists the strain or concussion, on 
which all the weight of the horse is subjected. It is first 
detected by a restlessness, lifting one foot in standing, and 
pointing, then the other; and if taken up and examined a great 
heat will be found to have taken place all over the horny part 
of the feet. The practice with some is to take a chisel and cut 
a nick out of the sole between the point of the frog and the toe, 
and bleed, as this part of the foot is a perfect net-work of small 
blood vessels, which often results in tetanus or lock-jaw, or 
takes longer to heal up than the scientific treatment of the 
disease takes; besides, sand or dust getting into the wound 



39 

cause a formation of matter, making the cuie worse than the 
disease. A pricked foot and a case of foot founder require 
simihir treatment — neither poultice nor blister, as a poultice, of 
whatever description, will bring on matter, and to blister is 
adding fuel to fire. The difficulty with the groom is to know 
the difference between a case of bruised foot, pricked foot, foot 
founder, or laminitis. As the treatment of each case differs 
materially, it would take more space than this edition can 
allow, and is 'SO apt to mislead. All diseases of the foot, of 
whatever nature, affect the whole system, and therefore bring 
on sympathetic fever. 



SAIMD CRACK, OR QUARTER CRACK, 

Is caused by neglect and inattention to stable management, 
traveling on hard pavement in hot weather without shoes, burn- 
ing the foot while shoeing, whereby they become brittle, too 
large nails or driving nails too close. See that every horse 
standing on a boarded stable floor has the feet regularly washed 
and kept clean, and a good hoof ointment applied to the feet 
not less than three times a week, at evening after the horse is 
done for the day. 



NAVICULAR DISEASE 

Is often mistaken for injury to the heel or wings of the os pedis, 
being affected by ossification of the elastic cartilages, a great 
amount of cartilage being predominant in the heel, in order to 
give elasticity to the foot. A case of navicular disease consists 
of carious affection of the navicular or small oval-shaped bone 
of the foot, and is incurable, and more especially if existosis has 
taken place. 



40 

SYNOVIAL MEMBRANES 

Are the membranes that spread the synovia or joint oil over the 
joints, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage of all movable surfaces 
of the animal system. When a strain occurs in the ligaments of 
a joint or a tendon, a profuse supply of this fluid is poured 
forth to lubricate or soothe the part. When inflammation of a 
joint has taken place from injury or hard work, this secretion 
is seriously affected, and should an opening into the joint be 
the result, then a straw-colored substance is seen to run out of 
the wound or puncture. A healing plaster made of white pine, 
beeswax, and mutton tallow, equal parts, is the best and most 
simple remedy to treat successfully such a case. 



STIFLE LAMENESS, OR LUXATION OF PATELLA, 

Is caused in various ways, such as a kick, a stroke, a s\i]) or 
false step, or sudden leap. A horse affected with stifle lameness 
holds up his leg, and if compelled to move will drag the leg 
along. Whenever noticed, get the horse into the stable, draw 
the lame leg up and replace the small bone. Keep quiet for a 
number of days, only allowing the horse the use of the leg to 
get laid down at night. Keep well bedded, and feed laxative 
food. Should the patella bone again slip out of the groove of 
the femur, a strong linen plaster will be required to keep the 
bone in place, by being drawn across the joint. A blister will 
do no good, but only evil, as irritation and unnecessary suffering 
are the result over and above the acute pain already present. 



INFLUENZA, OR DISTEMPER, 

Is an epidemic, as in every case the patient has come in contact 
with the virus, either from drinking from some public trough, 
or feed box in some strange stable, or of some hitching post. 



41 

It is first noticed by the horse refusing to feed, hanging his 
head and shaking; sometimes a cold sweat pervades the whole 
skin, hot mouth, etc. 

The first thing is to blanket well, rub the legs, although they 
may not be cold, as in pleuro pneumonia; but as soon as the 
lungs become affected, then cold legs take place. It is more of 
a broncho-catarrhal nature, and in the early stages has to be 
treated as such. I condemn the practice of blood-letting, purg- 
ing or blistering. I have been successful in all cases, as I keep 
up all the strength and vitality possible by good nourishing" 
treatment. Xever refuse a refreshing drink of cold water with 
a little oat meal, little at a time but often, more especially if the 
weather be warm. I have found stimulants to be beneficial at 
all times, and such remedies as the case reciuired. 

Iodide of sulphur, ^ oz.; iodide of potassium, ^ oz. ; flour of 
sulphur, 2 oz. ; powdered gentian, 2 oz.; mix and make up into 
twelve powders; give one in feed each evening. 



A LIST OF DISEASES 

REQUIRING THE ATTEXTIOX OF A VETERINARY SURGEON. 

Sloughing of a muscle, or ulceration. 

Indolent wounds, 

Excessive granulations, 

Stoppage of hemorrhage, 

Incised wounds, 

Lacerated wounds, 

Contused Avounds, 

Punctured wounds, 

Poisoned, or gun-shot wounds. 

Abscesses, 

JTetanus, or lockjaw. 

The above diseases, if interfered with by a novice with a view 
to a cure, are often made worse. A poultice has often been 
applied where a disease was made doubly worse. A blister has 



42 

l3een applied, the budding iron, the caustic nitrate of silver, 
■corrosive sublimate, sulphate of copper, and pain and poison 
have been a legacy to the poor horse for life. Having given a 
brief compendium of the diseases of the legs and feet, space will 
not allow further comment, as the object of the writer is to 
keep this work as much as jjossible condensed, but treating ail 
the subjects in a practical manner, so that the groom or owner 
of the horse will be perfectly able to understand intelligibly the 
every-day treatment of the horse, giving the experience of a 
lifetime devoted to veterinary practice. 



DIAPHORESIS, OR PLEURODYNIA, 

Affects the horse with the same appearance as a case of founder. 
It is a soreness of the muscles of the chest, and in an autopsy 
we find the diaphragm congested, with extravasation of blood. 
A sudden chill after a fast drive, swimming aci'oss cold streams, 
standing in the barn after being heated, are among the causes 
that bring on this disease. It used to be the practice to apply 
a strong mustard blister, bleed and give tartar emetic; but those 
days have gone by, and a different mode of treatment is prac- 
ticed, as death was often the reward of such brutal work. A 
mild sweating application, with plenty of warm clothing and a 
stimulating remedy, will bring the sufferer convalescent in a 
few davs. 



SPASMS OF THE DIAPHRAGM 

Is often mistaken for colic, as the action of the horse is very 
much the same, but the auscultation applied by a qualified 
l^ractitioner, very quickly discerns between the peristaltic action 
mid the flapping sound. This is a very painful and dangerous 



43 

disease, as the plunging, rising up, or sudden dropping down, 
of the animal often causes internal rupture and sudden death. 
I knew of a case where a would-be horse doctor gave one pint of 
nitric acid to a horse. Some of the acid dropped on the smith's 
arm while giving the infernal drench, and burned the skin off 
every part it touched. I jDitied the poor horse, but I arrived in 
time to antidote the fiery drench and save the horse. 



COLIC 

Is the worst disease the veterinary surgeon has to contend with, 
as a careful examination can scarcely be attained while the poor 
animal is suffering from spasmodic pain and torture. There is 
only one disease that properly ought to have the name of colic, 
and that is gastritis or windy colic, caused by fermentation of 
the contents of the stomach instead of digestion; or more jilainly 
speaking, when the gastric juice is overpowered, an over-loaded 
stomach causing dyspepsia, will create severe pain and cause 
the horse equal suffering and have the ajDpearance of colic. 
Strangulation and rupture cause the horse to show the same 
symptoms. Introception of the small intestines, constipation, 
worms, calculi of the bowels, calculi in the bladder; and as above 
referred to, spasmodic affection of the diaphragm; more horses 
die of the above diseases than all other ailments put together; 
and the worst of it is a suj^posed case of colic and the same 
remedy applied to cure all. Whenever a horse shows symptoms 
of pain in the bowels, the ever -ready whisky and pepper is 
crammed down his throat. Then no good results from it, a 
veterinary surgeon is sent for, who finds the poor horse on the 
point of death, inflammation having been set up with more 
vigor by the whisky; or warm water, sulphuric ether and one 
ounce of Barbadoes aloes; or the horse doctor's curse, turpen- 
tine. Many a good horse is killed by the friendly advice of a 



44 

neighbor, who reasons or argues, ''my father used to give all 
his horses so-and-so, and it always did them good." Take an 
old ignorant wife to the bedside of a sick neighbor, and even 
before and in the presence of the family physician, she will 
prescribe a remedy and insist on what should be done. Such 
is often the case among a number of ignorant stable loafers. 
Prescriptions and recommendations for the treatment of colic 
are given at great length in some veterinary works, which, when 
followed, have been the means of killing thousands of horses. 
No human being ought to put out his hand to treat disease who 
knows nothing about it, nor should any encouragement be given 
to any one who is not qualified to treat disease and to give a 
prescription for colic. While ten horses may be treated with 
that prescription, not one case may be a true case of colic. 
Spasmodic action and flatulency are quite different and require 
different treatment. Sulphuric ether will bring on disease of a 
very fatal character. Barbadoes aloes bring on medicinal 
disease, and many a good horse has been killed — purged ta 
death — by those health-destroying agents of by -gone days. 
Croton oil, the electric fire of the pharmacy, ought to be 
discarded forever. 

When a horse becomes sick and shows symptoms of colic, 
keep water away from him till the veterinary surgeon arrives. 
Take care that he does not injure himself while suffering from 
spasms; see that he is well bedded and does not chafe himself; 
this is all that oue-ht to be done till assistance arrives. 



ENTERITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS. 

In cases of internal inflammation much judgment is required. 
I have been called to a case where inflammation was caused by 
a large physic ball. A slight case of constipation was the 
excuse for giving the deadly purgative. In inflammation of 
any internal organ, no purgative should be given, as there is so 



45 

strong a sympathy between the various contents of the cavity 
of the chest that no one of them can be inflamed to any great 
extent without all the others being disposed to become so; and 
therefore a purgative in lung fever is as fatal as a dose of poison, 
and the excitement produced on the bowels by the purgative no 
medical skill can stop. 



THE PANCREAS, 

Or organ of secretion, lies between the stomach and left kidney. 
Its secreting fluid is carried into the intestines by a duct Avhich 
enters at the same aperture as the liver. Of late years it has 
been fully and clearly defined by autopsy that its use to the ani- 
mal economy is the separation of chyme, and therefore assists 
digestion. 



CHRONIC DIARRH(EA 

Weakens the system and renders the animal so affected unfit to 
perform a reasonable amount of labor. A horse so affected 
requires a very careful and judicious course of treatment, which 
should be kept up for a considerable length of time. The best 
mode of treatment is to take a quantity of flour browned in the 
oven, feed old oats, or if new, get them dried in a kiln or oven. 
Should the disease be of an obstinate nature, give tincture of 
catechu, one drachm, in a little cold water, two times a day 
before feeding. A tablespoonful of oil meal and middlings, with 
salt added* a little wet, is a good change of feed so as to keep 
the bowels regular, with all the hay the horse will eat, and 
moderate exercise, as fast work will aggravate or keep up the 
disease. It often occurs that no symptoms are seen in the stall 
till exertion takes place in driving, then the disagreeable effect 
appears. No horse that shows relaxation while being driven 
fast is constitutionally strong or able to keep up his early speed. 



46 

The chalk, nitre, vinegar, salts, and drastic medicines are a 
failure; good old oats, old hay, burned flour and oat-meal, with 
powdered catechu are the only remedies that keep a horse free 
from the disease. It sometimes happens that a horse will take 
purge and to the attendant no reason can be given but a 
change of water, feeding out hay where colchicum or other 
bitter weeds have been eaten. A feed of sour middlings or 
heated oats is the cause in a great many cases, and the sooner a 
decided stop is put to it the better, as the animal loses more 
flesh in one day than can be put on in a month's good kee]^. 



THE OMENTUM, OR CAUL, 

Is a fatty covering over the bowels. Its principal use is to lubri- 
cate and keep the bowels cool by always secreting a fine fluid, in 
order to keep the organism of the animal structure from abrasion 
or injury. It contains no blood vesicles, but in cases of enteritis. 
4s seriously involved. 



NEPHRITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS, 

Is a disease common to the horse; is caused by being overdosed 
with resin, nitre, and being what is called doped. It is a seri- 
ous mistake to give a horse a large quantity of resin, as it gums 
up the renal ducts, and nitre stimulates the kidneys to over- 
exertion, and brings on weakness and disease that^the horse 
never gets over, and which is never imputed to the bad effects of 
these diuretics; and should the animal be exposed to a cold 
drenching rain, inflammation is the result. Musty hay and 
kiln-dried oats are other aggravations to the kidneys. The 
function of the kidneys is to separate the urea, the poisonous 
portion of the urine. Not only are the kidneys excited, 
weakened and disposed to disease, but the whole frame becomes 



47 

debilitated; for the absorbents have carried away a great part of 
that which was necessary to the health and condition of the 
horse, in order to supply the sufficiency of the blood occasioned 
by the inordinate discharge of urine. When the function of 
the kidneys is destroyed, blood, albumen, calcareous matter and 
urea are sent indiscriminately into the bladder, and the horse- 
pines away and dies. 



DIABETES, OR PROFUSE STALING, 

Is not a common disease in the horse, unless over stimulants 
have been given, and a tampering with some groom's nostrum 
has been the cause. 



CYSTITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER, 

Is caused by inordinate retention of urine, as some horses will 
retain their water for a whole day if kept in harness or under 
the saddle. A horse during the heated season does not emit as- 
much urine as in moderate or temperate weather; that is to say, 
the perspiration is more free in warm weather than cold. The 
The horse affected with retention of urine is subject to acute 
suffering, and to an inexperienced eye acts as if suffering from 
colic, till rupture of the walls or body of the bladder has taken 
place, when death puts an end to his suffering, while all the 
time he has been under treatment for a mistaken case of colic. 
The catheter, in the hands of an experienced practitioner, is the 
only immediate relief for the horse, but mares can easily be re- 
lieved in a few minutes, but are not so subject to this disease as 
the horse. Inflammation in the neck or muscular part of the 
bladder is attended with acute and excruciating pain, and is 
easily known by the amount of mucus of a brown and yellow 
color, and the great exertion while in the act of staling. The 



48 

spasm of the sphincter muscle caused by pressure on the neck of 
the bladder, acts so powerfully as to cause contraction so severe 
that the animal under the acute suffering has been known to so 
injure himself internally as to be of no use afterwards. In a 
district of country where animals are in the habit of drinking 
water charged with lime, springs from limestone rock, they are 
more subject to calculi in the bladder, or gravel; and this is 
known by a continual attempt to void urine. A two drachm 
dose of tincture of cantharides and a vegetable diuretic in a 
drink of cold water, will remove the calculi or gravel, by break- 
ing it down into unadhesive particles, and causing them to be 
voided in the urine. Should the spasms continue, inject a de- 
coction of slippery elm bark, one pint to half an ounce of 
tincture of opium, and foment externally with warm water to 
assist in soothing the part. Lose no time to get your animal 
relief, as the consequences in all cases are serious. 

Cleanliness is the safeguard in a great many cases against these 
affections, and carelessness on the part of the attendant is often 
the result. Wash out the horse at least once a month, more 
especially if bedded with sawdust, as the ordinary accumulation 
on the point of the penis of what is called a bean, is a decided 
obstruction in urination, beside the dust or sand adhering to the 
inside of the sheath get mixed and hardened with the gum mat- 
ter secreted inside. 



HEPATITIS, OR INFLAMMATION OF THE LIVER, 

Is known by general external symptoms, as the urea or coloring 
matter of the bile seen prevading the cornea of the eye; and in 
a great many cases a brown color takes place on each side of the 
tongue, accompanied with heat. It is a very rare occurrence in 
the horse, as he is not exposed to any of the causes that produce 
this disease. 

Hemorrhage of the liver is more often an affection of the 



49 

horse. It is generally fatal. It is more commonly the death of 
old and worn out horses after severe exertion. Bleeding and 
purging used to be the treatment of jaundice and all affections 
of the pancreas and liver, but such treatment has been numbered 
with the things that were. Calculi of the hepatic duct cause 
the coloring of the eyes, but require gentle, exciting treatment, 
as a cure has to be reached by the circulation. All horses 
affected in an acute form die suddenly, even without the knowl- 
edge of the attendants. 



HYDROTHORAX, 

Or water in the chest, is out of the reach of the ordinary groom 
or horse attendant to interfere with; therefore as a critical 
disease I give no advice. 



SPLENITIS, 

Or inflammation of the spleen, lying between the left side of the 
stomach and the short ribs. It has been clearly defined by 
surgical research that the secretion of blood is the ofl&ce of this 
organ, and in all cases of acute fever it is seriously involved. In 
the horse this organ is not so often diseased as in many other of 
our domestic animals. 



THE HEART, 

The index of every kind of disturbance of the animal anatomy, 
indicating every pulsation to every vein and artery, is often the 
seat of disease caused by over-exertion. For the sake of brevity, 
I do not intend to enter into an explanation of the various 
offices of the heart, but simply describe its diseases and their 
causes. Fatty degeneration is caused by a general wasting of 



50 

the system, brought on by neglect after severe exertion, and will 
often take place very suddenly while in active labor, such as in 
the hunting field, on the race track, or in heavy drawing; and 
all such cases often take place in extreme warm weather. If a 
horse is very fat do not stop him suddenly, but keep him moving 
gently till cooled off, wash out the mouth often with cold water 
before leading into the stable. Dropsy, or a collection of fluid 
in the pericardium, occasionally called pericarditis, gives a 
different sound in auscultation; therefore, the different reso- 
nance or gurgling sound demands a different treatment from 
either the above-mentioned diseases. Dropsy and inflammation 
of the heart often take place in the horse at the time of chang- 
ing his coat, — spring and autumn. An over-fed horse, with 
little work is often the subject of such a disease. The heavy 
draught horse of Europe is more the sabject of heart disease 
than any other breed of horses. No horse can be kept in good 
health that is over - burdened with fat. Apoplexy or fatty 
degeneration is often the cause of death. 



THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES. 

Surfeit. — Is caused by exposure and sudden chills after the 
blood has been over-heated, and not by over-feeding, as the 
name would indicate; but is a disease of the skin breaking out in 
watery effusions, resembling a round blister. These eruptions 
are in some cases confined to one part of the horse but they 
often spread over the whole surface. The disease occurs at the 
change of coat, spring *and autumn. It is an obstruction of 
some of the pores of the skin, and causes a considerable irrita- 
tion of the skin; hence the annoyance to the horse while in the 
stall and when hitched in harness, continually wanting to rub 
himself. A cooling diuretic remedy is the best as the horse 
can be used while under treatment. If not attended to, hide- . 



51 

bound will take place and a disease of the follicles of the hair 
will be the result, and bare patches will come out all over the 
animal. Chickens ought never to be allowed to roost in the 
stable, as the chicken lice get on to the horse and cause great 
annoyance, besides a deal of trouhle and expense. 

Mange is an infectious disease caused by having come in 
contact with an animal having the disease, or from being in 
some stall or place where a mangy horse has been. It is first 
noticed as a pimpled pock-like eruption on the skin; it bursts 
through the cuticle and the hair falls off and leaves a bare spot 
covered with scurf; the watery fluid oozes from beneath the 
scab, which falls off and leaves a still wider spot, and a raw 
greasy sore is left, throwing off scales to propagate or breed the 
disease in whatever animal it comes in contact with. This is 
attended with considerable itching, and therefore a torment to 
the horse. It is first noticed by a falling off of the hair of the 
the mane, as the mane ii the first part generally affected. Its 
existence may be pretty easily detected even before the blotches 
appear. Should a horse become diseased where a number of 
horses are kept, his blanket, harness, brush and currycomb 
should be kept from the rest of the horses; even the bedding 
and everything connected with the diseased horse, as this is a 
contagious disease, and among the whole diseases to which the 
horse is exposed, there is not one more so than mange. If it 
once gets into a stable it spreads through it, for the slightest 
contact is suflBcient for the communication. 

Every part of the horse ought to be Avell rubbed over with an 
ointment composed of oil of tar, flour of sulphur mixed in oil, 
sweet, neatsfoot, or sperm oil, either will do — and in two days 
take soft soap and Avarm water, wash the horse all clean, then 
apply the ointment again, repeating the washing till the horse 
is well. And in the meantime give the horse two ounces flour 
of sulphur, four drachms iodide potassa, ten grains of arsenic, 
mix and make up into twelve powders; give one each evening 



53 

and feed cooling mash., carrots or turnips, and if in the grass 
season, give cut grass. Be particular in cleaning every part of 
the stall and harness; wash the blankets well and soak in a 
strong solution of salt or carbolic acid; burn the brush and 
combs as soon as the horse gets well. 



RECEIPT TO MAKE THE HAIR OF MANE AND TAIL GROW. 

As the roots and hair follicles are much stronger and detper 
than any other part of the skin, and imbedded in a fatty pulp, 
they are more liable to permanent disease than any other part. 
Cleanliness is in a great measure forgotten by horsemen. The 
hair follicles of the tail, if examined, will be seen to be covered 
with a scaly, gritty, greasy substance, an effort of nature to get 
rid of excrescences. A superabundance of that dry, eflEete sub- 
stance shows plainly that if not soon removed a falling out of 
the hair will be the result — tetter, as it is sometimes called; the 
follicles become diseased and dried up, and are therefore ren- 
dered unfit to produce hair. As there is nothing so ornamental 
or beauteous to a horse as hair, a fine, long, wavy mane and long 
full tail, I will expect the reader to be not a little interested in 
the following remarks : 

Whenever we are called to see a horse with staring coat and 
scaly skin, we have no hesitation in seating that disease has 
taken place and external support is deficient, the circulation 
impeded. In cases of pneumonia a scurfy, scaly coat takes 
place. Starvation and exj^osure to cold, filth and bad grooming 
cause a disease in the ej^idermis and follicles. In rat-tailed 
horses most of the hair is split from the outside and inward, and 
the skin has become roughened and scaly, resembling that of an 
elephant, or what is called elephantiasis. Falling out of the 
hair occurs from weakness, either of the body generally or of the 
hair bulbs. The proper way is to wash the tail well with soft 



53 

soap, a little borax, and warm soft or rain water ; rub well 
across the tail, keeping the left hand under the tail. , In the 
evening, after the horse has got through for the day, rinse well 
with cold water, then dry ; in an hour after take the following 
preparation and apply : Melt white wax, 4 pound, olive oil, 1 
pint, calamine, ^ pound, camphor, 1 ounce, melted in alcohol ; 
melt over a slow fire; when cold add the camphor. Treat the 
.mane in same manner as the tail ; rub well in and wash out 
every morning before being hitched up. Continue the same 
process every other evening, or as often as possible. The above 
preparation will supply a pair of horses for six months. 



STUART'S REMEDY. 



Eeceipt No. 2 .—Take 1 lb. spermaceti, i lb. white wax, 2 
ounces palm oil ; meli on a slow fire. When cold add 4 ozs. 
tincture of calendula, 1 oz. aqua ammonia, ^ oz. carbonate of 
soda. Mix and stir well, then bottle tight. This preparation 
is very valuable to cool the tail of a colt, as a heat is sometimes 
present when they are kept in a loose box and fed oats, corn and 
hay, and in every case it i)revents them from rubbing the tail 
or mane. "Were breeders to pay a little more attention to the 
above advice they would lay the foundation of having a good 
tail and mane when they become fit for harness. 



54 

Keceipt No. 3. — 1 pint bay rum, 2 pints neats foot oil, 6 ozs. 
acetate of ammonia, tincture of cantharides, sjiirits of camphor^ 
■J oz. This is easily prepared. Mix cold and cork up till 
wanted. In every case see that the mane and tail are clean and 
free from grease before use. 

Any of the above recipes are apjilicable for aged horses, espe- 
cially after the fly season is over, as most carriage horses are in 
the habit of switching away the hair of their tails. No. 2, if 
often used, will grow a wavy, long mane and tail, and shine 
quite clear and bright. 

No. 3 is mostly used on white tail and mane, as it will not 
stain. 

There are many other recipes recommended, containing train 
or whale oil, that will only smear and stain the hair and take a 
long time to wash off. 



VICES, OR DISAGREEABLE HABITS OF THE HORSE. 

Eestiveness is sometimes hereditary in the horse, as some 
of the English thoroughbreds will be continually in motion, 
drawing their halter chain through the ring that the horse is 
attached to in his stall, running back and forward in the stall, 
weaving or swinging the head from side to side when not feed- 
ing, swallowing their food without grinding, not lying down, 
pawing all their bedding down and lying on the bare boards. 
Such horses should be bedded with sawdust or dry sand. 

Wind sucking and cribbing is a very disagreeable and ianger- 
ous habit. They are worse in a loose box than an open stall. A 
wire muzzle worn over the nose, made so that a horse can eat 
hay, is the only preventive. It is no disease, nor is it caused by 
any unsoundness, as I have made a jyost-mortem of most inveter- 
ate cribbers several times in order to ascertain the cause, and s'ee 
if there was any abnormal condition of the stomach or intes- 



55 

tines ; but research on my part and that of all others has failed; 
and not a writer, German, French or English, has been able to 
lirove by research, that any abnormal condition caused crib-bit- 
ing, but that it is simply a habit. An opinion prevails among 
some practitioners that cribbing brings on dyspepsia and indi- 
gestion. I have not seen a case where they did not feed and digest 
their food as well as any other horses, and they are capable of 
doing their work as well as any other animal. If they leave the 
stable bloated, a few yards and they are all right; and as for 
being the subjects of colic more than any other horses I have yet 
to get proof. My experience in this habit extends over thirty- 
three years in both hemispheres of the globe. 

Biting, kicking, rearing, running away in harness, vicious to 
clean — these are often the fault of the groom ; as the groom will 
scratch, tease and tickle the horse while standing, for his own 
amusement, till he becomes uncontrolable, and then will punish 
the horse for the very fault he has taught him. 

Cleaning the horse in the stall is very bad practice, as the 
horse will learn to crib as if taught by another horse. Every 
horse ought to be cleaned on the stable floor, fixed in such a 
manner as not to have any liberty to get at anything — and in 
warm w-eather to be cleaned out of doors. 

Stall kicking is another habit which one horse will learn from 
another, as the horse is one of the most imitative of all our do- 
mestic animals. But I have known a mare to kick all night 
long with the right foot, and when changed to another stable 
give it up entirely. A very quiet horse will kick in the dark 
should any object happen to come near him without making 
some noise. 

As a great many vices in the horse are the result of idleness, 
every horse ought to be exercised every day, however short a 
time, even in a loose box, as they are apt to get tired of the 
monotonv. 



56 



BEDDING OR LITTER. 

Cleanliness to the horse is one of the greatest points of atten- 
tion as regards hygienic treatment, or the e very-day manage- 
ment of the horse. After having fed and watered the horse as 
the first thing in the morning, remove the soiled litter from the 
stall and sweep the stall clean, and as often as possible wash out 
the stall with water and a little carbolic acid to destroy the 
fumes of ammonia which have a very deleterious eJSect on the 
eyes of the horse, and are likewise as obnoxious to the horse as a 
like nuisance is to the human being. 

A common practice is to roll the bedding up at the head of 
the stall immediately below the very nose of the horse, which in 
a confined stable is very deleterious to health ; besides, the saf- 
est place to put the hay is in front of the horse on the ground, 
as hay seed and dust do not get into the horse's eyes, and is 
not so liable to accidents as a rack to teach a horse to crib. 
There ought not to be any other thing at the head of the stall 
but the metal feed-box. 

Let the stall be getting aired out while the groom is 
cleaning the horse. A good disinfectant or deodorizer is man- 
ganese, or Condy's Fluid, and at the same time cheap ; as of 
all animals the horse is the most sensitive to bad smells or 
filth. 



CLIPPING. 

Clipping the horse in mid-winter finds advocates only with 
those who advise it for the sake of gain; but although as a 
veterinary surgeon I condemn the practice in toto, I am tenfold 
more benefited ofttimes by the injurious effects of clipping than 
any one engaged in clipping. I have never seen any good result 
from the practice. It is believed by many that the horse kept 
for fast work ought to be clipped. If a well bred, fine coated 



57 

horse, he requires no clipping. If coarse haired, clip in the 
early part of October, while the weather is warm, and by De- 
cember your horse will have a fine, thick, sleek coat by being 
kept well blanketed, and will require less care and anxiety dur- 
ing January, February and March, when the weather is at its 
coldest. Your horse will shed his coat in May and look well; 
will have a thick close coat during the coldest part of the season 
and be less susceptible to colds and disease than if clipped in 
December. The December clipjDcd horse does not shed his coat 
till the summer is half gone, and a great many cases of skin dis- 




THE HORSE IN HEALTH. 



ease, running at the nose, pneumonia, the result of exposure and 
cold, beside expense for extra clothing and care, are the result 
of clipping in winter. In all the remarks on clipping by any 
author, I do not find one who advocates winter clipping, 
except those lucratively engaged. It is not many years since 
clipping was introduced into America, and experience has taught 
that winter clipping has been followed with bad results in the 
Northern States and Canada. Many a noble horse that might 
have lived to crop the grass of the next spring has been laid low 
and the green sward of summer bloomed over his grave as the 
result of December clipping. Cavalry horses, all used for fast 



58 

work, neither in Canada nor any part of Europe have orders to 
be clipped. It is argued by some writers that it is impossible 
to dry a long-haired horse after a drive; absorbing the moisture 
by rubbing with cloths is almost impossible; the rubber merely 
passes over the surface, drying up very little of the perspiration, 
the great proportion of which is held by the inner coating of 
soft fur-like hair. To this I reply, take a sponge and come over 
the wet parts with warm water; take the wooden scraper and 
scrape the horse well, put on the blanket, and the horse is dry 
in half an hour after being turned into his stall. Then take 
him out and rub him down, and your horse is all right. It is a 
mistaken idea that a horse in a state of perspiration is wet next 
the skin. Spread the hair to one side and you will find the 
horse dry next the skin. Another argument is that a horse 
works better after being clipped. No wonder, as a stinging cold 
is a sharp whip, ana he is compelled to keep moving. Another 
is that they thrive on less food; any reasonable man knows that 
the more exposure to cold the more food is required to keep up 
the animal heat. Another is, they are less liable to disease. 
Shallow arguments, indeed; vessels that will hold no water. I 
quote a communication from one of our best edited Sunday 
morning papers, Tlie Sunday Morning Voice, December 27th, 
1874: 

[Communicated.] 
CLIPPING HORSES CRUELTY TO ANIMALS. 

The following communication has been handed to us by Mr. Wightman, 
the agent of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It is a 
statement from one who is eminently competent to judge of the matter 
under consideration : 

"I have been often asked my opinion as regards clipping horses in 
winter, or rather robbing them of their natural covering, and the protec- 
tion given them, like all other animals, against the rigor of a severe win- 
ter's cold. I would say, first, it is unnatural; second, injurious; and 
third, cruel. 

"It is unnatural, because no artificial covering can supply the place of 
the hair, which protects the skin from the inclemency of the weather, 
cold winds, rain or snow storms. If all the good results that we see 
trumped up in the newspapers or by parties having an interest in the clip- 



59 

ping of horses be so beneficial to health aud comfort, why not clip all 
horses turned out to winter pasture (as it is called)? Clip anj' horse used 
for business purposes you will find you will have to keep him well blan- 
keted in the stable; as soon as your horse is wanted the blanket is thrown 
aside, the harness put on, and the horse driven into town and hitched to 
a post. Put all the blankets you have got on him aud you will find you 
have too few; your horse, which you expect to be so cheerful, will be 
standing crouched and drawn up in the belly, and unmistakably suffering 
from cold. It is said a horse works better; yes, when desperation in the 
shape of a severe cold is stinging the poor animal, he is compelled to run 
to keep up the natural heat . 

"Second, injurious. It will do very well to refer to the practice of 
clipping in England, which is common among hunting and thoroughbred 
harness horses, where the climate is moderate and steady; but all along 
the lake regions, where the climate is so changeable and suddenly severe, 
it must be injurious to the health and comfort of the horse. 

"Third, cruel; because the horse is compelled to over-exert himself 
while at work ; and this has been the means of bringing on pain aud suf- 
fering as a consequence of robbing him of his coat. The Creator of the 
universe made all things well, and pronounced them all very good; and 
the fine sleek coat given to the horse comes under that appellation. It is 
said they thrive on less food. It is well known, as a law of nature, that 
the more the animal system is exposed to the cold, the more food is re- 
quired to keep up the animal heat. It is also said they are stronger. 
Does the weight of hair on a horse's back weaken him? Will any reason- 
able man believe such stuff? Never. A heavy coat of hair will cause a 
horse to sweat profusely while undergoing severe exertion; a long coat 
keeps up moisture, but whether wet or dry, it affords protection to the 
skin and a shield of defense; whereas the skm, if bared by clipping, saves 
the groom much labor; he can dry the horse in half the time and with less 
exertion than the natural coat requires; but if not done immediately the 
horse is sure to suffer. 

"If his natural coat is left on, he does not require any clothing, is in 
less danger, and besides, not so much dependent on his groom for instant 
attention after a hard drive. 

" Clipped horses are longer in shedding their coats than others, and 
present a jaded appearance beside; half the summer is gone before they 
got rid of the old dead hair and present the healthy look they otherwise 
would have had if they had not been clipped. 

"I am desirous of seeing clipping stopped, and letting well alone." 

ORIGIN OF CLIPPING THE HORSE. 

Clipping was never intended as a benefit to the health of the 
horse, but to defraud a purchaser: to make a coarse-haired horse 
pass for a fine bred. English history states that in the reign of 



60 

Henry I., 1121, when the first Arabian liorse was imported into 
England, the object of that monarch was the improvement of 
that breed by crossing with the coarse-haired English breed, for 
racing, hunting, and military purposes or fast work. Commis- 
sions were sent to the east of Europe and north of Africa to 
purchase Arabian and Barbary stock for the above purpose, 
which in time became fully realized. Many devices were re- 
sorted to by horse dealers to fraudulently deceive the buyers of 
horses. Half a century later, Smithfield market was incor- 
porated as a horse market and race course, and I quote from the 
Intelligencer, a newspaper published in 1679, containing as com- 
plete a piece of roguery as can be imagined. It says: "A mare 
mentioned in our last Intelligencer, as a lean pyed one, etc., 
foundered and moonblind, came this day into the market, 
(Smithfield), so neat and trimmed (clipped), that like a new 
beauty, all eyes were on her. Her colors were now coal black, 
with a star snip and one white fore foot. They had rasped, 
beaten and filed her teeth, that one would have taken her for a 
colt; and all her defects were so supplied that a sly racer of the 
west sna]323ed (bought) her up, and designed to do notable feats 
with her at New Market Heath, but met a very serious disap- 
pointment when he found out the deception." By the above 
we see that the health of the old mare was not the object; it 
was deception and fraud, and from that alone clipping sprung, 
but for lucrative purposes the system has been construed into a 
world of benefits to the poor animal. 

Could the poor horse speak in his own behalf, a thousand 
human tongues would fail to strike deeper to the root of 
humanity. The practice of clipping, bishoping and clinching, 
at that time became the resort of horse dealing deception; clip- 
ping the hair from the coarse horse, clipping or filing the teeth 
of the old horses to make them look young. 

Chucking or driving a small stone beneath the sound foot if 
lame on the other foot, so that parties buying horses could not 
detect the lameness, as the horse could not limp as long as the 



61 

stone remained. But a law was enacted that made these frauds 
a crime, and yet even to this day it is done to a certain extent. 
Various schemes have been tried to introduce clipping into 
the British army, but without success. In 179G, when I. Stock- 
ley was veterinary surgeon to the Royal Artillery; and again in 
1811, when Wm. Perceval was veterinary surgeon to the Life 
Guards, several officers drew up a petition and memorialized the 
Horse guards for sanction to clip the military horses. They 
used all the persuasive powers the human mind Avas capable of, 
but before the Royal Horse Guards could give any decision, it 
was referred to the veterinary surgeons of the different regi- 
ments for a report, and the reports were ordered up in eight 
days. The reports were unanimous that clipping was unsafe 
and injurious to the horses under their charge; and up till the 
present time clipping has never been allowed in the British 
Army. Figure a poor horse doing duty for two hours, with 
the thermometer below zero, with a northeaster blowing, with 
not n, vestige of hair but mane and tail. And I state without 
fear of contradiction, that fifty per cent, of all such- exposed 
horses would have been in the infirmary within the next two 
hours. Besides, if clipped horses could have thriven on less 
food, the veterinary surgeon would have been the first to advo- 
cate clipping; and the commissary department would have 
quickly availed itself of the o]3portunity as a point of economy. 
And from what we are taught by the clipping theory, one would 
be led to believe a horse could live and thrive on three straws a 
day. I have never found a man that advocated horse-clipping 
as a benefit but with the same breath admitted its evils. It is 
not every horse kept for fast work whose constitution will bear 
clipping; besides, some horses have more sensitive skins than 
others. I can refer to cases in Scotland and England where the 
horse did not live forty-eight hours after being clipped. It is 
now two hundred years since clipping was introduced with no 
good result to recommend it, and on that account has made no 
progress. 



63 



AN APPEAL TO HORSE OWNERS. 

GEATEFUL HUMANITY, AS A EEWAKD FOR SERVICES RENDERED 
BY THE HORSE. 

Any gentleman who has had a horse in his service for a 
number of years, should recognize the fact that he ought to 
be better cared for in old age, when he has become infirm and 
unfit for service, and his gay, gallant carriage of head has 
become drooping, his skin has lost its glossy color, his joints 
have become stiff, and natural decay has taken i^lace. John, 
the hired man, gets a visit of the master in the stable once in a 
month or so; a proposition is made by John that old Charlie is 
fairly played out, and he cannot eat liis oats; never thinking 
that the good old faithful servant of fifteen or twenty years 
service in the family, is out of condition in consequence of 
being fed on oats and hay from January to January, Avithout 
even a mash to assist nature. " Well, John, what's to be done?" 
The answer is ready: ''0, sell him." And without thought, 
the owner gives consent, and off John goes to a sale stable to 
sell the poor old horse. The horse being sold, John returns 
with a few dollars, hands them to his master, which is all right. 
A few days after you are driving down town, and as you try to 
get out at your fine painted street gate, an obstruction is in the 
way: a man is unmercifully lashing a poor muddy looking horse, 
heavily loaded with scrap iron, having traveled many a mile 
before you were out of bed, in mud and rain. That poor horse 
wants to get in at that fine gate as in days of yore. You recog- 
nize poor Charlie, and your good Christian heart is touched, 
your conscience revolts, and you call out, ''Be kind to that 
horse, I owned him for a number of years," and you know the 
answer you would get while every stripe on his jioor bare ribs 
are monuments of disgrace to your honor. Compare Charlie 
to-day with fifteen years ago, when he was one of a team of 
beauties that so gayly and gracefully brought you and your 



63 

beautiful bride from church, taking you to your place of busi- 
ness day after day, and driving out the family for an evening 
ride, ever ready, kind children frolicking among his feet and 
]-unning around his legs at jjlay in the stable, and kind old 
Charlie would not lift a foot to injure one. Your wife has 
driven him for pleasure, and baby has prattled among his feet; 
and Charlie, you petted and gave him an apple or a little 
sugar, and all to please baby; but you have forgot those days, 
and poor Charlie — where is he now? Badly housed, poorly fed, 
an old, hard; ill-fitting harness, an old wagon, heavy loads, and 
a cruel tyrant for a master: a poor reward for a lifetime 
servitude. 

"And death the poor beast's dearest friend, 
The kindest and the best." 

The few dollars you received only gnawed your conscience 
after seeing your poor old faithful servant in great distress. 
Better far get him killed and honorably buried out of sight. 
If such a practice were carried out, how few poor old worn-out 
horses would be seen as monuments of disofrace in our streets. 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Breeding Colts for Pleasure or 
Profit, for Road or Draught 

Purposes 5 

Signs of Pregnancy 7 

Breaking Colts 9 

Buying a Horse — Examination 

of a Horse 13 

Feeding the Horse during win- 
ter 14 

Feeding Horses during summer 15 

The Detection of Disease 16 

Fever 17 

Disease in the Horse 17 

Poll Evil 18 

Canker in the Ear 19 

Staggers 19 

Sunstroke 31 

The Nasal Organs or Nostrils. . . 23 

Disease of the Eye 23 

The Mouth 28 

Aptha in the Mouth 24 

Lampas in the Colt 35 

Excorriated Angles of the Mouth 26 

Speeding Cutting 37 

The Teeth 28 

Pneumonia or Lung Fever 30 

The Throat and its Diseases. ... 30 

Bronchitis 31 

Worms , 33 

Atrophy, a Wasting of Muscle 

or Sweeny 33 

Shoulder Lameness 34 

Elbow Tumor 34 

Bog Spavin, (or enlarged Burcea 

Mucus ) 35 

Blood Spavin (or Local Venous 

Congestion) 35 

Bone Spavin 35 

Ringbone or Exostosis 36 

Scratches 36 

Thrush 37 



' Quittor 37 

Corns in Horses' Feet 38 

Inflammation of the Feet, or 

Laminitis 38 

Sand Crack, or Quarter Crack . . 39 

Synovial Membranes 40 

Stifle Lameness, or Luxation of 

Patella 40 

lufluenza, or Distemper 40 

A List of Diseases requiring the 

attention of a Veterinary 

Surgeon 41 

Diaphoresis, or Pleurodj^nia .... 43 

Spasms of the Diaphragm 42 

Colic 43 

Enteritis, or Inflammation of 

the Bowels 44 

The Pancreas 45 

Chronic Diarrha?a 45 

The Omentum, or Caul 45 

Nephritis, or Inflammation of the 

Kidneys 46 

Diabetes, or Profuse Staling. ... 47 
Cystitis, or Inflammation of the 

Bladder 47 

Hepatitis, or Inflammation of the 

Liver 48 

Hydrothorax 49 

Splenitis 49 

The Heart 49 

The Skin and its Diseases 50 

Receipt to make the Hair of 

Mane and Tail Grow 53 

Vices, or Disagreeable Habits of 

the Horse 54 

Bedding, or Litter 56 

Clipping 56 

Clipping Horses Cruelty to Ani- 
mals 58 

Origin of Clipping the Horse. . . 59 
An Appeal to Horse Owners. ... 61 



^ 



